Sphingomyelins are compounds having a structure wherein a phosphocholine is bonded to a ceramide backbone composed of a sphingoid base and a fatty acid, and is known to be abundant in the cell membrane, brain and neural tissue in the body.
Recently, sphingomyelins have been reported to have physiological functions such as an effect of preventing and/or treating dysmnesia (Patent Literature 1), an effect of improving learning ability (Patent Literature 2) and an effect of promoting sialomucin secretion (Patent Literature 3), suggesting a wide range of potential applications, such as application to foods and drinks, especially supplements.
Solid supplements, among formulations, are a commonly preferred dosage form due to their superior handleability and preservability, and ease of consumption. They are generally manufactured through compression molding of raw material powders and additives using a tablet press or the like.
The tableting process may involve tableting problems, such as capping in which part of a supplement facing the upper punch is detached in a cap-form, and sticking in which a portion of the raw material powder or the like is adhered to a punch, leaving defects on the tablet surface. In an attempt to prevent those tableting problems, a lubricant is typically added to the formulation. As such lubricants, sucrose fatty acid esters, lecithin, stearates, talc and the like are widely used (Patent Literatures 4 and 5).    (Patent Literature 1) JP-A-2003-146883    (Patent Literature 2) JP-A-2007-246404    (Patent Literature 3) JP-A-2007-112793    (Patent Literature 4) JP-A-2000-139410    (Patent Literature 5) JP-A-2004-155682